Ivory Beauty and the Ebony Beast
by ClintonBush43Obama
Summary: "This is the story of a love that flourished in a time of hate. Of lovers no tyranny could separate. Love set into motion on the river's shore - destiny ignited by an act of war." Elton John, Disney's Aida. So, this fanfic is originally based on another one called Sowing the Sparks. Except, I have embellished it, using some of the same plot points and adding others. Enjoy!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Mrs. Everdeen had not wanted to hire "day laborers" after her husband's death. It seemed to confirm that she was incapable of caring for her two little girls. More than that, something about the kindly middle-aged black woman and the young grandson she brought along left her uneasy. What's more, the Okiniwis (that was their name) hailed from District 11 – and most people did not travel between districts in Panem.

But the one thing that kept her from terminating the contract was the way the boy, Thresh, played with her older daughter Katniss. The two small children – one black, one white – were inseparable for the two years they spent together.

It was perhaps for this reason alone that in the end, Mrs. Everdeen was sad to see the grandmother and grandson duo go.

After all, it wasn't as though Prim, her youngest, was big enough yet to be a suitable playmate for her sister.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

From his place on the train, 18-year-old Thresh Okiniwi watched the recaps of the Reapings for the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Beside him was his younger next-door neighbor, 12-year-old Rue.

On the whole, the Reapings this year were pretty forgettable. Even his own was forgettable. Yup, all blah except for the very end…..

In District 12, a girl Rue's age was called. It was the last name that first triggered something in his brain. _Everdeen…._ Then –

"I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"

Thresh nearly rose from his seat. It was _her_. Katniss Everdeen. Now he remembered. They had been close playmates as children together when he and his grandmother had lived with her family.

He stared as the Katniss on film walked to the stage. Where there had once been a little girl was now replaced by an attractive young woman in Thresh's memory. She had really filled out in the intervening years – almost did not look her age (what did she have to be? 16? 17?).

What's more, Thresh was struck by Katniss's bravery. How she had sacrificed herself for her sister. For someone like Rue.

Thresh chanced a look at the little girl beside him, who was watching Katniss just as intently. Only one would come out of this arena alive….

And Thresh was going to make damn sure that it was his district partner.

He just hoped he didn't have to kill his childhood friend to ensure that.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

District 12 had blown all of the other chariots out of the water, no question about it. Whoever their stylist had been, Thresh wished he and Rue had had him/her.

All the tributes were gathered in front of the Tribute Training Center, chatting before going in. Thresh let Rue do the talking. He was too quiet, too reserved, too shy.

He wouldn't be able to keep up that excuse for long.

"Look, Thresh, look! It's her! District 12!" Rue squealed, tugging on his sleeve and pointing in a direction. Before Thresh could even look her way, Rue was off, and he had no choice but to keep up with her.

Rue bounced right over to Katniss Everdeen – she was strangely not with her district partner, that Mellark boy (what was his name? Peeta?). The two girls began chatting as Thresh sidled up.

"…. Oh, well thank you, everyone's been telling me I was brave…" Katniss trailed off as her piercing grey eyes met Thresh's green ones. She did a double take, then broke into a beaming smile. Thresh suddenly became very nervous.

"Threshy?" she asked, using the nickname she had given him as a youngster. "My goodness, you've grown!"

Thresh found himself smiling back at the compliment. "So have you," he said quickly. Wait, was that insulting? "Grown more beautiful, I mean." No, that wouldn't fly either. "For a Seam girl, I mean." _She's going to think I'm an idiot._

Katniss merely shook her head and laughed. "Oh, Threshy, you'll always be that little boy I remember playing in the Meadow with in Twelve."

Something about this comment turned Thresh off. Hadn't she just noticed he had obviously grown? He wasn't little anymore!

But Rue was already jabbing away to her new friend again, Katniss being very attentive and animated with her. Both ladies seemed to like each other. Thresh could only roll his eyes in amusement. _Girls…._


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Training started soon enough for the 24 tributes. Katniss and Thresh found themselves drawn to the same survival stations and mostly kept to themselves there, catching up and talking about old times. Thresh explained about his situation with Rue.

"You finally got the sister you said you always wanted!" Katniss teased.

Thresh blinked, then smirked. "How did you remember….?"

"Oh, you were always doting on Prim!"

Raised voices suddenly drowned them out. The monstrous Career boy from 2, Cato, seemed to be on the verge of picking a fight with the boy from 6. Peacekeepers swooped in to break it up.

"Six, where's my knife?"

"I don't have it, man-"

"Liar, you stole my knife! He took my knife!"

"All right, that's enough!"

"You're the first one I get in the arena, Six, so watch your back, huh?" The guard dragged Cato away.

Trying to get back on topic, Thresh and Katniss were suddenly aware of a figure in the nets up in the rafters. It was Rue…. and in her hands, she gleefully twisted the missing knife.

Katniss and Thresh looked at each other and stifled giggles. They figured if Rue could swipe from right under Cato's nose, she at least had a decent chance in these Games.

* * *

Lunch was welcome, as everyone was dog-tired. Katniss sat right next to Thresh and Rue at their own table; the black boy noticed Peeta looking at her from across the cafeteria. But to the girl before him, her district partner might as well not exist.

The three picked at their food in silence for a time, Thresh encouraging Rue to eat her greens. It was a very fine line to walk, though. A tribute did not want to gorge him or herself on food before being almost certainly starved in the arena. At last, Katniss set down her fork.

"I've been thinking…."

"Oh, really?" Thresh smirked over the rim of his glass.

Katniss smirked back, and Thresh could almost swear she was blushing. "Shut up. I've been thinking – we three are getting along so famously-"

"Aren't those the lyrics to a song somewhere?" Rue chirped.

"Rue, don't interrupt," Thresh chided, but Katniss didn't seem to mind. She smiled affectionately at the little girl.

"Since we get along so well, I was wondering… how about allies?"

Thresh thought about it, reclining in his chair. "So you're offering?"

Katniss eyed him. "Do you see anyone else at this table?" Thresh shrugged No in response. "Are you accepting?"

Thresh eyed her. "Do you see anyone else at this table?" Katniss threw a carrot at him.

* * *

Over the next several days, the trio continued to train together in the Center. In the evenings, they would hide out in a Rooftop Garden Rue had found to plan out an arena strategy. All three stayed there until it was well after dark; Thresh often had to carry a sleepy Rue back to their quarters.

Finally, on the last day of training, the tributes had their private sessions with the Gamemakers. The trio vowed to not share what they each did even amongst themselves, lest word get out to less friendly tributes. When the scores were released, Rue pulled a respectable 7, Thresh a 10 (putting him right in with the Careers) and Katniss an unprecedented 11!

The two older kids now had targets on their backs. But perhaps those targets would at least help them avoid unnecessary fight and thus better guard their little protectee.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

If Training and the Private Sessions were bad, the Interviews were the downright worst part of the whole debacle. Getting up in front of the entire nation on live TV was not Katniss's cup of tea. Nor Thresh's, for that matter.

Thankfully, Rue was the first one to go out of the three of them towards the end. And she did not seem to mind a bit talking to Caesar Flickerman. When asked to name a favorite tribute besides herself, she almost brought everyone to tears when she said Katniss, for saving her little sister. She played the crowd even after her turn expired when she broke protocol and snuggled into Katniss's lap as Thresh went to the stage.

The District 11 boy knew what angle to play, restricting his replies to only one or two words. His only complete sentence was when he vowed to protect Rue until the day he died.

Katniss passed Rue to Thresh before she went up, and Thresh had to admit he liked the way her stunning red dress swished as she sashayed towards Caesar. She blew everyone away when the dress unexpectedly caught fire as she twirled. Then, Caesar asked his final question:

"What did you tell your sister, when you said goodbye to her at the Reaping?"

Katniss took her time in answering; she seemed, at least from Thresh's standpoint, to be fighting back tears.

"I told her that I would try to win. That I would try to win for her." She composed herself. "It should be bearable, though. I'll have two…. friends in there with me who I now care for as much as her." She smiled back at Rue and Thresh.

The gong sounded, and Katniss rejoined her friends. It was now Peeta's turn. Katniss and Thresh had wondered to each other just what he would say; apparently, their mentor had coached the District 12 tributes separately. The interview was hilarious from the start, filled with witty banter, before Caesar turned to a more serious question:

"Now, Peeta, tell me: is there a special girl back home?" Peeta gave a boyish grin and danced around the question, playing to the crowd. _Slick_ , Katniss thought. But Caesar wouldn't let up. So Peeta finally admitted to a crush, but he was pretty sure she hadn't even known she was alive until the Reaping…. and maybe not even after. Caesar encouraged him to win, so that "when you get home, she'll have to go out with you." The crowd screamed agreement. Peeta just shook his head.

"Thanks, but winning won't help in my case."

"Why ever not?"

Then came the boom. "Because… because… she came here with me."

* * *

Katniss was quite later than usual meeting her allies in the Rooftop Garden that night. Thresh knew damn well why. He could hear her screaming at Peeta all the way from the open stairwell leading downstairs. By the time she joined them, Rue was already asleep. Katniss silently rocked her in her lap, as had become routine – almost as if they were a little family.

There was a long silence before Thresh finally threw out the question that had been plaguing him most of the night.

"Do you love him?"

Katniss stared at him; like with Caesar, it was a bit of time before she answered.

"No. Peeta showed kindness to me and my family once long ago – more than that, his kindness saved our lives. But I didn't think I would be expected to repay that kindness with my love." Her eyes found Thresh's again, from where she had been watching herself absentmindedly play with Rue's hair. "Besides, I'm in the Hunger Games. I don't have time to fall in love. I decided long ago to never have kids and have to watch them possibly get picked in Reapings and sent to die. And that certainly meant writing off marriage."

Thresh said nothing, only listening carefully. He knew Katniss had told him more than once that he was a good listener. Well, that came with his style – and years of self-awareness. Still….

"You could have married and just had children, you know," he pointed out. "A lot of people do that."

"I know. But… the one guy I might have even possibly considered marrying would have wanted them."

 _Wait a minute…. what does she mean by that?_ A horrible thought struck him. _She couldn't mean the Mellark boy? But she just said she didn't love him! Katniss wouldn't lie to me like that…. would she?_ Thresh's musings went high and low and all around – but the one place he refused to go was the burning anger he felt, mixed with just a hint of…. possessiveness….

No. He was not jealous. Not him.

He decided to change subjects. "Let's just review what happens in the morning: Tomorrow, I'm going to need you to get Rue and I want you both to _run_. No matter what. Even if…." Tears threatened to invade and he had to swallow to compose himself. "…. if it turns out I can't follow you."

"What about supplies?" Katniss fired back in hushed tones.

"You let me worry about getting that. Just find water and climb a tree you think is safe. You know enough about the woods; I trust your judgment more than mine in that department. And remember those hunting marks you showed me in training?"

"Yes, we talked about this…"

"I should be able to track them fine and come back for you both."

The moon was getting high; they didn't have much time left to discuss.

"Thresh!" Katniss said suddenly. He looked at her. "…. I don't know, but maybe…. maybe we could take Peeta with us."

Thresh ignored the anger that threatened to rise up. He refuted the idea gently, yet emphatically.

"Katniss, even if we wanted to bring him along, it's too late now. We should have offered an alliance sooner. He no doubt has plans by now, and we can't take such a major chance. I wish Peeta Godspeed; based on what I've seen, he should survive the Bloodbath. After that, it's anyone's guess."

Katniss sighed and nodded. "You're right." She stood and stretched before kissing Rue on the forehead and offering her to her ally. "Take her, will you?"

Thresh nodded. Before Katniss could turn to go, he suddenly stepped forward and bravely kissed her cheek.

"Goodnight," he said quickly. Then, he hustled down the stairs with his dependent.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Let the 74th Hunger Games begin! May the odds be ever in your favor…."

Katniss spotted Rue quickly as she surveyed the woodsy arena around them. _Thank goodness – she's not far from me_ , seeing the little girl only two pedestals over from her. The girls met eye contact and Katniss gave the little one a pointed nod with her head: _Stay there. I'm coming to get you._

The gong sounded, and all the tributes lunged off their pedestals; Katniss waited for the girl from Six to pass before darting off hers straight for Rue. Reaching the pedestal in seconds, she scooped the little girl into her arms.

"We have to go quickly, honey! Remember what Thresh said."

Turning away from the fight even as its screams polluted the clear air, both girls ran for the tree line. Just as they reached the edge, a roar made them look back.

Near the center of the Cornucopia, Thresh had managed to seize a scythe and was fighting his way through two tributes. Interestingly, they were giving him a challenge – but what would you expect from children fighting for their lives?

Thresh's angry eyes suddenly found Katniss's fearful ones. "Go!" he roared as he ducked a swing.

"Wait! Thresh!" Rue cried.

"GO NOW!" Thresh bellowed striking a blow to one tribute.

"Rue, hurry, come along…." Katniss raced into the trees, sprinting with Rue bouncing in her arms until she couldn't sprint any more. The huntress picked a tree right at the spot where they stopped. Carrying Rue piggyback now, she began to climb. A sturdy branch was found and a nest was made for the night. Near mid-afternoon, the cannons started…. BOOM….. BOOM…..

Rue counted up to eleven and Katniss gave her a proud smile. That meant 13 left to play.

* * *

As night was beginning to fall, Katniss heard calls of her name and Rue's. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Katniss!"

"Shut it!" she snapped to the dark man immersed in moonlight. "You want to get us all killed?"

Thresh's head whipped up, and he instantly began to climb. He was barely on the branch before he was hugging the life out of them.

"I knew I'd find you!" Then he leaned back to look Katniss in the eye; she was disturbed to see his eyes blazing with rage.

"Why didn't you get the hell out of there like I told you to?"

"We did!" Katniss angrily shot back, a little hurt. "Rue was just worried about you!"

"That's no excuse, Katniss! You can't always coddle her – especially not now! Not in the arena! When I tell you to run, you run!"

"But, Threshy!"

"NO BUTS! Never freeze like that – _ever_!"

Katniss blinked, still weary of his anger. "I'm sorry…. Thresh," she apologized, chastened.

As the trio settled down to sleep, only then did she seethe. How dare Thresh accuse her of not following his orders! She did not think it was a good idea for them to argue like this.

The only troubling thing was that a secret part of her _relished_ the arguing.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The next day, the trio decided to stay in their safe tree. Rue got inventive with finding food as she crept carefully from tree branch to tree branch, gathering nuts and even catching a few burrowing squirrels unawares. Katniss always felt herself relax easier when Rue returned to their home branch. If she fell….

Thresh, meanwhile, kept watch from a branch just above. Around noon, he poked his head down.

"There's a fire! 8:00, not half a mile from here!"

"Damn it!" Katniss swore as she threw down the squirrel she was skinning. "What idiot would start a fire in broad daylight?"

"I guess we'll find out," Thresh told her grimly.

Indeed, it did not take long for whooping and hollering to be heard. Katniss recognized Cato's voice. Whatever poor soul or souls had started that fire was not so lucky, and wrenching screams confirmed at least two deaths. Katniss huddled Rue close to her side as the cannons sounded amongst victorious laughter.

"13 down and 11 to go!" the boy from District 1 – Marvel - crowed. Katniss burrowed back into the tree trunk when she heard the voices and footsteps pass right around them.

The Career pack did not notice the silence in the threes. "What about your partner, Lover Boy? She's top on my list!" Cato barked.

Katniss and Thresh nearly fell out of the tree when they heard the answer: "Yeah. I think she went that way!"

It was _Peeta_.

The Career pack took off in a run at Peeta's signal, their footsteps dying away. One long moment of relief later, Katniss got an idea.

"I can track their footprints. Let's follow them!"

Thresh agreed. "In these Games, spying never hurts."

"Let's go!" Rue ruled in favor a little too enthusiastically, which Thresh could tell concerned Katniss greatly. He could only smile. If nothing else, he was glad to know _Lover Boy's_ sob story had only been one over-exaggerated act.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It did not take long for the trio to find the Careers. They were too damn loud _not_ to be noticed.

Whooping and laughter told the spies that they had found some prey, even if (thankfully) it wasn't the prey the Careers had been hoping for.

In some bushes a few yards away, Thresh, Katniss and Rue could see Peeta and the others circling a tree like wolves. A tree that sported an unusual crop of flaming red hair. The girl from 5, Foxface, as Katniss had nicknamed her. The tribute was cornered, literally treed like a raccoon.

When climbing up after her and trying to shoot her down didn't work – the Glimmer girl from 1 wasn't worth shit with a bow – Peeta suggested they wait her out by setting up camp right below.

"She's gotta come down at some point; it's that or starve to death," he rationalized.

"How cruel!" Rue whispered. A paranoid Thresh clapped a hand over her mouth even as Katniss shushed her.

The Careers prepared for the night. Within minutes, even the ones who were supposed to be on guard duty had fallen asleep. Katniss snorted. _These are the worst Careers ever…._

A buzzing cut across her thoughts. She rolled her eyes.

"Thresh, stop trying to make Rue laugh with bee noises," she admonished.

"That wasn't me," Thresh blinked at her, confused.

The three curiously followed the sound. And there. They saw it!

Right in the tree where Foxface had been trapped was a giant nest of tracker jackers.

Rue came up with a plan faster than either of her protectors. "I could climb up the tree one over and cut the branch! It'll fall right on them!" She bounced up and down between Katniss and Thresh, her hands folded in begging position, her eyes alternating between them. "Please let me go and cut it down! Oh please, oh please, oh please…."

Over her head, Katniss and Thresh looked at each other. And just as fast, Katniss shot the idea down.

"Absolutely not, Rue! It's too dangerous! Thresh, can you please explain to her how dangerous this is?" She then saw that Thresh was lost in thought. _He couldn't possibly…._

"No," Katniss said shortly. Thresh didn't answer, which only confirmed her suspicions. "No way! Oh come on, Thresh! You know she is too little to climb a tree that high!"

"I don't know…." Thresh mused, failing to hold back a grin. "She's a good little climber and cutting might not be such a bad idea…."

Katniss gaped at him before letting out a nervous laugh.

"I don't believe you! You're doing this on purpose! Not taking my side when you _know_ I'm right! This is _no_ time to argue-"

Her harsh words suddenly failed to be heard as Thresh clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Quiet," he teased only half-facetiously. "You'll wake them up."

Katniss let out a growl when his hand went away. Oh, how she _hated_ it when they fought like this! Especially when it was just for fun! _It's like we're a married couple or even parents…_ She pointedly ignored the blush that crept to her cheeks.

"So, I can cut it down!" Rue badgered.

"No," Katniss stated shortly, but patiently as she prepared her bow. "We're going to shoot it down." She fitted an arrow to the string and glowered at her companions when they stared mutely at her.

"Shoo, shoo," she prompted. Nobody moved. "Get down in those bushes before they come running or I'll shoot you myself!" she hissed angrily.

Thresh and Rue scrambled into the bushes. They were barely there when Katniss let the arrow fly, turning and diving in to join them without even bothering to check if she would hit her mark.

CRASH! CRACK! BUZZZ….

"Argghhh! Argghhh!" A great roar went up as the Careers were jolted awake, and they thundered past the bushes and into the trees. Two in the pack were swarmed, not even able to get up off the ground. Meanwhile, in the chaos, Foxface leapt from the tree; her eyes gave Katniss a grateful look before she disappeared.

The buzzing faded after a few minutes as the tracker jackers dispersed, mostly following in the direction the Careers went. There was no sign of Peeta – not that Katniss cared. As for the two bodies that now lay bloated in death, there was no help for them as yet another two cannons sounded – one for Glimmer and one for the girl from 4.

Nine tributes left…..


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Finding the survivors of the tracker jacker attack was easy enough for the Trio; they intuitively knew the group would go directly back to the freshwater lake to regroup and nurse their stings.

The first thing Katniss and Thresh noticed was that Peeta was no longer with the others. Neither had seen where he had gone in the confusion of the day before. Katniss was satisfied by this development, but Thresh was puzzled. _Didn't Peeta betray us?_ he thought. _Or is he acting as some kind of double agent?_ Irrationality on the black boy's part was hoping the former still held true.

The remainder of the pack consisted of Marvel, Cato, Clove and the boy from District 3 as a tag-along. When Katniss suggested they continue tailing the band after Gamemakers cut off food supplies, Thresh agreed.

The Trio thus followed the Career Quartet through the trees. By mid-afternoon the next day, the bunch had stopped by a riverbank, with the Trio observing from some underbrush. As the boy from 3 knelt by the river to take a drink, he suddenly let out a yelp.

Something – a hand – shot out from seemingly nowhere and twisted the boy's ankle. He fell backwards…. and hit his head at just the wrong angle on some rocks. Blood oozed from his temple and a cannon sounded. He was dead.

Before the hand could disappear from wherever it had emerged, Cato had whirled around and seized it. There was a scuffle, followed by a familiar scream – and then another cannon.

Katniss stared as Cato stood above his fallen adversary. The surprise attacker had been _Peeta_. He had camaflouged himself by the riverbank. Whether to hide or surprise, Katniss was not sure. Perhaps it was both. In any event, her district partner was gone. The remaining Careers took off into the trees. Instantly, Katniss made to go after them. Just as she leapt forward, she felt Thresh grab her arm and she struggled.

"Katniss, it's not worth it! It's too risky!"

"They killed Peeta! Get off of me!"

But Thresh wrestled her back into a tree trunk and pinned her there. Dark-skinned boy and white-skinned girl stared into each other's eyes, breathing hard.

"It's over, Katniss," Thresh wheezed as gently as he could. "He can't be saved, and we might be killed too."

There was a long moment as the pair regarded each other. Finally, Katniss shook her head.

"Thresh, don't look at me like that."

Thresh cocked his head to one side and stared at her. "Why not?"

"It makes me feel uncomfortable," she replied flatly, and sidestepped away from him.

Out just beyond them, Peeta's body lay only feet from the District 3 boy's. Katniss cautiously stepped out of the trees. Rustling told her Thresh meant to follow, and she waved him off.

"Stay back! Stay with Rue. I don't want her to see this."

Thresh obeyed. Katniss cautiously approached Peeta's body and bent over him. He was most certainly dead. Without even knowing why, she began to sob. She never believed he was truly helping the Careers – he must have taken the nest attack as his chance to get away! Maybe he really _had_ loved her! And she was never kind to him!

Remorse filled her heart as she realized there was no way to repay him the way she should have, now that he was gone.

Or maybe there _was_ a way….

Glancing back to see that Thresh and Rue were well hidden, Katniss began to pull Peeta from his hiding place and clean him in the river. When that was done, she stripped off his clothes and washed them. The dead boy now lay naked before her, and she could not help but blush at seeing…. everything. His body was even still warm….

Suddenly, Katniss became like a woman possessed. She began to tear off her own clothes from the waist down and curled up tightly next to him, using her body heat to keep him from freezing. But that wouldn't nearly be enough to repay him. She knew what she had to do. Bestriding Peeta so that she now lay on top of him, Katniss kissed him lovingly as she took his penis in her hand and guided it to her center. Shaking off her knickers, she then pressed his member into her folds, which instantly became wet. She groaned from the pain into Peeta's mouth, nearly choking on her tears, but continued, burying him into her core. Once pleasure had replaced initial agony, she began to move her hips in a rhythm, grinding herself up against him. She was overjoyed when she felt Peeta's body involuntarily respond, his lower half bucking into her.

She moved faster, almost flopping against Peeta's body now, as she thrust his member into her harder, again and again. Her vision clouded, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her mouth stayed open in a small "o" - out of which came her sobs, now mixed with gasps of pleasure, short breaths, even whimpers and small cries. In between these, she would cover his mouth with hers – even forcing Peeta's mouth open to breathe hot air inside, as if that might revive him, even if it was hopeless. All the while, she could feel Peeta's body staying warm alongside her own.

Suddenly, Katniss felt a rush of liquid pour into her; Peeta had orgasmed inside of her. She paused briefly, before continuing. She still had to cum, and that was an excuse to keep up the warmth. A few minutes later, she did, all over him.

Exhausted, Katniss rolled off of Peeta, her legs and center painfully sore. She distracted herself by cleaning her body, then Peeta's, siphoning of their juices before dressing them both again. She beat back a tornado of shame that threatened to destroy her. Yes, she felt like a slut, but she did not care. There had been no other way to feel better about her actions towards the Boy with the Bread.

* * *

All of this had taken place within full view of Thresh, who was barely able to keep himself from shaking with rage. How dare Katniss debase herself like that! She had never even told him she intended to do such a thing to Peeta – he had been forced to think fast and avert Rue's eyes so she didn't see. He just hoped the little girl hadn't heard anything, despite his hands also completely over her ears. But, that was really beside the point. He could barely contain his jealousy. If he had not suspected such a thing already, this right there proved it beyond all reasonable doubt. She had lied to him about her emotions. Now, the question was: could Thresh ever trust Katniss again?


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The Trio kept itself busy by hunting over the next day or two. It was agonizingly boring for all. Neither Katniss nor Thresh would speak to each other, which left a very concerned Rue as the only one to make conversation.

Worse still, natural food like rats and rabbits was becoming scarce – no doubt a Gamemaker trick. There was never enough for a decent meal to keep them all fed.

This led to Katniss's announcement one morning.

"It's clear we cannot get enough food for us all – at least when we are all together. I propose we split up to cover more ground."

Thresh nearly choked on the small rabbit leg he was eating – their last set of leftovers from two days prior. She couldn't be serious. How were they supposed to split up effectively without leaving Rue on her own?

As if she read his thoughts, Katniss answered him – and made things a whole lot worse.

"We will make signal fires at various points – three should do it. Rue will stay at the very last one, while you-" she nodded to Thresh "- and I go and hunt."

Rue agreed to the plan almost instantly. Thresh wanted to throw up his hands. He was overruled. Not that either of the girls cared about his opinion, anyway.

As Rue busily gathered supplies, Thresh took Katniss aside.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, leaving her alone? This plan is bonkers!"

"She'll be fine, Thresh!" Katniss snapped, her eyes glowering at him. "The fires won't be very big – just big enough for us to see and not the Careers. Besides, we won't go far."

"Oh, really? Then what was the point of making three, then?" Thresh queried, folding his arms defiantly. Katniss scowled and Thresh almost grinned. He had outsmarted her this time. The huntress let out a huff.

"Fine. I wanted to get back down by the horn and spy on the Careers. The signal fires can help us find our way back…"

Thresh threw up his hands. "'We won't go far', huh? Katniss, we've already used that strategy twice, and it didn't get us much!" Then another thought struck him. "Oh, this is about revenge, isn't it? For Lover Boy." Katniss's glare told him all he needed to know.

"Maybe it is and maybe it isn't."

"So, what's the plan, then?" Thresh egged.

"I'm figuring it out, all right? Can you just trust me for once in your life?"

"Hey!" Thresh and Katniss stopped their bickering to glance back at Rue, who shifted uncomfortably under their hard stares. "The signal fire's ready."

Thresh lit it while Katniss took Rue aside.

"I'm going to teach you the Mockingjay whistle. Remember how you told me you could copy the birds in the fields back home?" Rue nodded. Katniss whistled a three-note tune, which mockingjays in the distance copied. Then, she made Rue copy it back to her. The mockingjays echoed again.

"That means, we're all safe and we'll be back soon," Katniss relayed. Trying not to cry, she hugged and kissed Rue goodbye. She and Thresh left her by the glowing signal fire.

* * *

The Careers were found back at the Cornucopia, as Katniss had predicted. Cato and Clove appeared to be on the cusp of scrounging for food now, and the tributes spying on them felt smug. Good. _Without food, they'll be helpless…._

Suddenly, Katniss noticed something was out of place. Someone was missing…. _Where is Marvel?_

"KATNISS! THRESH! HELP!" Katniss and Thresh shared horrified looks.

"Damn it!" Thresh swore. "I knew this wouldn't end well!"

They tore through the trees, panicked – so much so that they didn't find Rue until they had almost tripped right over the net that now caged her. Katniss quickly cut her free and both she and Thresh hugged her close.

"You're OK, you're OK…." Katniss soothed.

"LOOK OUT!" The group leapt apart as a spear from Marvel came whizzing towards them. Like lightning, Katniss drew an arrow and let it fly, right into Marvel's stomach. He stared at it dumbly before crumpling to the forest floor. BOOM.

The whole battle had been less than 30 seconds.

Katniss looked back – and she almost drained of color.

The spear tip was lodged in Rue's hip. She and Thresh almost broke the cursed thing trying to remove it. Katniss scooped the little girl up in her arms. "She's bleeding bad, Thresh!" she cried, panicked and close to tears.

Thresh thought fast. "There's a place we can hide! I saw it on the way down."

The three backtracked along Katniss and Thresh's route from earlier. Along a small stream, was a cool, mossy cave. Thresh hustled his companions inside, ripping off a piece of his shirt to fashion a makeshift tourniquet, which Katniss wrapped around Rue's hip to staunch the bleeding. It worked…. for now. Rue soon fell asleep, and the older kids fell back, exhausted. At least death would not be separating them yet.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Katniss woke up several hours later, as the sky was beginning to lighten. She found herself unusually close to Thresh and, blushing, scooted away. Good thing, too, because moments later, Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed out across the arena, waking her older ally:

"Attention, tributes, attention. 24 hours from now, at sunrise, there will be a feast at the Cornucopia. Each of you needs something: desperately. And we plan to be…. generous hosts."

Katniss could think of only one thing she and her allies needed desperately.

"Rue's medicine," she said, turning to Thresh.

"No," Thresh refused emphatically, glancing over at Rue to make sure she was still out. "Absolutely not. We are not risking our hides for some Capitol drugs that might not even work."

"Yeah? Capitol or not, she needs it, because otherwise that tourniquet is going to give out. And she isn't exactly in shape to get it herself," Katniss countered resolutely. She readied her bow.

"Katniss." The low timbre to Thresh's voice gave her pause – and secretly thrilled her. She would never admit it, but something about the way he growled in that way made her…. she brushed the thought off and glanced to him.

"Promise me that you will not go to that Feast. Do you understand?"

Katniss considered this. Thresh was worried about her and Rue. Clearly, that's where this was coming from, or he wouldn't be passing up such a life-saving chance. Knowing what had to happen, she realized she could calm Thresh and still accomplish her mission.

"I promise," she told him as gently as she could. "But only if _you_ promise not to go."

Thresh raised and eyebrow at her, but she could tell he did not suspect falseness in her answer. He shrugged. "Done."

* * *

Late that night, Katniss checked her supplies one last time. All was ready for the feast in a few hours. She checked Rue's tourniquet, and kissed her forehead. Then, she turned back to the sleeping Thresh. After a moment's hesitation, she bravely kissed his cheek, almost like she was apologizing, before slipping out into the night.

* * *

Katniss reached the Cornucopia well before sunrise. As the first light marched steadily over the giant horn, a table containing four backpacks rose out of the ground before the horn's opening. Katniss straightened. _This is it…_

As she burst from the tree line, she was shocked to see a flash of red reach the table, seize the backpack marked '5', and take off running. _Foxface! That sneaky little…._ Katniss sprinted forward, knowing she had only minutes to get her backpack and go before –

Just as she was rounding the horn for the table, Clove appeared out of nowhere. With a roar of anger, she chucked a knife, which Katniss ducked as she made for her bow. Bad idea. Clove rushed forward and tackled her. The two girls wrestled on the ground, biting and kicking and screaming as though they were possessed. Finally, Clove had Katniss pinned, staring into her eyes with an evil smile.

"Didn't think you were going to show. What are you here for? Needed supplies so you could keep 'playing house' with your guy friend?"

Katniss growled and struggled. "Oh, I see. That was you plan, right? Oh, that's sweet. To bad you couldn't keep playing pretend with your pretend daughter. What was her name? Rue?" Katniss struggled harder, enraged that Clove would dare to say her name.

"Oh, yeah, we killed her, Marvel killed her. " Clove claimed, even though Katniss knew it was a lie. "And now…." She produced a knife, turning it over in her hands. "We're going to kill you."

Suddenly, Katniss felt Clove yanked violently off her. She sagged back and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. _Thresh…. Thank God!_

There was the sound of a slam as Thresh presumably pinned Clove into the horn's metal.

"You said you ordered Marvel to kill her?" Thresh demanded of his captive in a deep voice.

"N-No!" Clove screamed, trying to deny it.

"I heard you!"

Katniss smiled to herself. Clove had run her mouth once too long. Apparently, Clove realized this, too, as she began desperately calling for her district partner. "Cato! Cato!"

"You said her name! _You said her name!_ " Katniss then heard an ominous THUD! THUD! as Thresh, in a fit of protective rage, flung Clove repeatedly into the Cornucopia. Moments later, Katniss was horrified to see Clove's body drop into her line of vision, her white and blank eyes traumatizing.

But that was nothing compared to looking up and seeing Thresh standing over her, the angriest she had ever seen him. For a moment, Katniss thought she would die after all. _He's going to kill me for not obeying him…._ Instead, Thresh stonily offered his hand.

"Just this time. For Rue. Let's go home!" Helped to her feet, Katniss and Thresh sprinted for the trees, leaving the dead Clove and a no doubt raging Cato behind.

Five tributes were all who now remained.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The campfire in the cave that night only seemed to fuel Thresh's fury, at least in Katniss's eyes. She knew there would be repercussions, but she was ready for and welcomed them. Rue was fast asleep after being given the medicine – which turned out to be critical.

"You shouldn't have gone. You deliberately disobeyed me!" Thresh said finally after a long bout of silence.

"You would never have let me go anyway," Katniss replied flatly. "What was I supposed to say?"

"So you lied to me. Well, duh!" Thresh shot back, and Katniss could already see the anger building, ready to explode. "Which begs the question: what else have you lied to me about, Katniss?"

Katniss's jaw could have hit the floor. "Nothing!"

"BULLSHIT!" Thresh hissed. "Have you forgotten how you bold-face lied to me about Peeta?"

"What are you talking about-?"

"You said you didn't have feelings for him – the night of the interviews – and then, almost immediately, you turn right around and give every indication to the contrary. You've proved it in a dozen different ways! Would you like me to list them for you?"

Katniss scowled. "No."

But Thresh wouldn't back down. Completely ignoring her, he plowed right on anyway, like a prosecutor in a jury room. "Fine. Let's start with what you told me in the Rooftop Garden, minutes after saying you didn't love him! You said – don't interrupt! – you said, and I quote, _'the one guy I might have even possibly considered marrying would have wanted them'_. Children. Now, who else, pray tell, could you have been referring to?"

"I wasn't talking about _Peeta_!" Katniss spat, outraged. "I was talking about someone else!"

For a moment, Thresh's anger abated. _Hold on…. She couldn't have been…._

"You weren't talking about Peeta?" he asked, quietly. "Well, then who _were_ you talking about?"

"My hunting partner back home. Gale." Katniss admitted quickly.

Thresh sat back, stumped. _So there's_ _another_ _man in her life. Who is this Gale?_

Then he remembered. The footage from the District 12 Reaping when Katniss volunteered. Her sister had been carried away by a mysterious boy. That had to be him!

"Fine," he seethed. "Let's move on to the point where you literally fucked a dead body – Peeta's – in full view of me and almost a twelve-year-old girl! Why did you do that, huh? Just answer me that!"

"I felt guilty, OK?! Guilty that he loved me and I couldn't love him back, guilty that I never repaid him for saving my life, guilty that he had to die! I wanted to at least give him something!"

"Oh, so your answer was to give him your _virginity_?!" Thresh spat, his voice dripping with contempt. For a moment, he (almost) regretted his words, except that Katniss's stony silence gave him all that he needed to know. Yes. That had been her first time. As jealous as he was, Thresh couldn't fathom that Katniss had not done anything like that before up to that point. In fact, he felt bad for her. After all, even when angry, she was so beautiful!

"You know," he began, "if you were looking for a sexual experience, you could have at least…." He stopped, short, suddenly terrified. "Never mind."

Katniss blinked and stared at him. "At least done what, Thresh?" He didn't answer, which concerned Katniss greatly. Only once before had he refused to talk to her…. and it had nearly driven her insane. Gently, she reached a hand for his shoulder.

"What do you want, Thresh?" Her voice was soothing. Thresh turned back to her, glowering, but his eyes seemed…. sad.

"You're a stubborn little bitch, you know that?"

There it was again. The door he loved to slam in her face. His comment riled Katniss up all over again. "And what are you, a coward? At least I know how to express my feelings!" Thresh growled and turned away. "Oh, don't you _dare_ turn your back on me, you son-of-a-bitch! TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!"

Thresh suddenly wheeled back around and grabbed Katniss's face so hard, he was almost smushing it. "YOU!"

Next second, his lips crushed into hers, molding them until it was hard to tell whose mouth was whose. A violent kiss.

"MMM-HMMMM!" Katniss screamed in shock into Thresh's mouth. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

But just like that, it was over. Thresh's lips sprang away from hers as randomly as they had unified with hers, and he sat back, his face drawn in a hard line.

Katniss stared at him, mouth agape. She was stupefied, and seemed to have literally lost the ability to speak.

"Th-Thresh….." she finally breathed. "What….what the hell – (gasps)"

Her ramblings were cut off as Thresh took her face in his hands –gently this time – and kissed her again. But the kiss was more gentle, loving, and yet still passionate. Katniss backed out of the kiss, trying to dance away as Thresh's arms now encircled her waist. "What…. what are you doing….?"

"I can't take it anymore!" Thresh hissed and he kissed her once more, more insistently.

"Mmmmm! Mmmmmm!" Katnisss moaned into his mouth in protest before twisting away. "No, Thresh! We can't do this." But she said it almost sadly, regretfully. The sexual side of Thresh was encouraged and he smiled at her.

"Did you like that?" He went in and stole another kiss. Again, Katniss squirmed away just long enough to weakly protest.

"No, please! Neither of us wants this! Mmmm…no…..mmmmm…..no!" Thresh held her head in a vice like grip now as he forced his lips upon hers. When Katniss managed to free herself, she could barely form words, even as Thresh peppered her face with kisses. "No, this isn't right…." Their lips met yet again.

Meanwhile, Thresh's hands roamed. He ran his fingers up Katniss's inner thigh, towards her womanhood, before switching back and bravely cupping her right breast. Katniss's muffled cries into his mouth became more panicked. "Mmmmm-hmmmm-mmmmm!"

She was pushing on his chest now, trying to make him stop. Thresh played his last card: he gave the breast he was holding a loving squeeze.

It was as if a switch flipped in Katniss Everdeen's brain. In moments, her cries of panic turned into sensuous moans of pleasure. "Hmmmmmm….." Her hands went about Thresh's neck and she cautiously moved her lips in sync with and into his with tentative, but now willing, reciprocation. She was surrendering to, readily participating in, her own seduction.

Still, Katniss was cornered. OK, she admitted it. She had stopped denying that she wasn't attracted to Thresh ages ago. Maybe she was even in love with him. But what was she supposed to do now, as she kissed him desperately and he kissed her back? Peeta or no Peeta, she didn't have any experience. Not technically. And besides, she had never been one to make decisions impulsively – that just wasn't her style.

And yet, as Thresh squeezed her breast in his massive hand again, she made an impulsive decision now.

Katniss assertively pushed Thresh flat onto his back on the cave floor. She saw his eyes widen, maybe thinking she was refusing him after all. Instead, without breaking the kiss, she brazenly threw one leg over his body and quickly moved to straddle him. Her hands petted down his chest as she pulled away to kiss his neck. A moan from Thresh seemed to send a signal to her womanhood and her panties became all at once flooded with dampness. She _wanted_ this. She wanted to have wild, angry, make-up sex with Thresh Okiniwi. And she wanted it _now_.

As if he could read her thoughts, Thresh prompted her to sit up. Katniss raised her arms up over her head; Thresh removed her white tunic with a flourish and cast it aside. In perfect harmony, Katniss quickly followed with her bra, before allowing Thresh to help her shimmy out of her pants and underwear.

Then, Katniss returned the favor, shyly beginning to strip Thresh out of his shirt and pants. Her face permanently flushed when she saw Thresh's member emerge, all black and…. stiff. He was so big!

But she did not have time to think much about this, for next second, Thresh was pushing his penis up into her center. She let out a strangled gasp at the still somewhat unfamiliar feeling of a man, a new organ, filling her. "Ah-hah….."

"Does that hurt?" Thresh hissed, looking to Katniss as she stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, up at the ceiling.

"Go slow," she croaked in response, signaling her approval.

Thresh obeyed. He began to slowly shift in and out, in and out, of her. When pleasure replaced pain, Katniss let out an unholy moan. She threw her top half down on Thresh and kissed him hungrily, muffling her own cries as he shamelessly began to fuck her. Thresh growled dangerously into her mouth and began to pump faster, more violently. Katniss felt so turned on, wet and thirsty with want, she could have screamed joyfully. They were punishing each other for their fight and yet apologizing at the same time. _If this is sex_ , she thought almost dreamily, as her eyes fluttered shut and she kissed Thresh deeply, _it's pretty damn good!_

Then, she suddenly remembered something that they both, in their fit of sexual tension and passion, had forgotten. She squealed slightly into Thresh's mouth, but he was so busy kissing her with tongue, he ignored her. She finally managed to pull herself away from the kiss.

"We….. we have a twelve-year-old…. charge sleeping right next to us! OH!" she panted airily as Thresh gave another powerful slam into her core. Katniss blushed furiously, as she realized she had almost referred to Rue as their _'daughter'_. Thresh seized Katniss's face and forced her to look deep into his eyes.

"She's slept through Capitol crowds and cannons, she can sleep through us making love," he assumed with a growl. He violently kissed her again, Katniss groaning a little loudly into his mouth. The pair began to make out; Thresh pounded into his lover faster.

"Oh, yes, Thresh, yes, she can! We can!" Katniss mewled almost drunkenly. She was riding him now like a bull, her bare arse slapping uselessly against Thresh's powerful thighs.

"Uhh…uhhh…" Her sexy cries were covered by Thresh's lips yet another time – and a good thing too; she was getting really close to-

"Mmmm-hmmmm!" Katniss felt a tidal wave of liquid crash against the shores of Thresh's penis, lapping over the sandbars of her wet folds. With each unregretful throb, she felt herself growing limper and limper like a noodle until she was folded all the way over Thresh. Still, she and her paramour kissed until at last-

"Hrrrrrr!" Thresh growled low in his throat like an animal and came deep inside Katniss, pumping his juices into her just as unapologetically. Finally, with a smack that seemed to reverberate in the sudden silence of the cave, Thresh and Katniss broke their latest kiss.

Amazingly, Rue was still asleep.

* * *

Hours later, Katniss and Thresh were curled up in each other's arms. They hadn't even bothered to redress, instead using a blanket as cover. Exhausted from their frenzied lovemaking, Thresh had fallen asleep long ago. But, with her head resting on his muscular chest, Katniss stayed up and pondered. Without even being entirely aware of it, she, Rue and Thresh had created a little family within the arena. A family of parents and child: Thresh as the Daddy, she as the Mommy, and Rue as the baby. Of course, she could understand why she had almost called Rue her daughter during sex – she thought of Rue as nothing else. But, she now turned to the handsome man in her arms. What was Thresh? What was he to her? A domestic, life partner? A lover? Or, dare she think it….. a sort of husband? She didn't know, and decided not to answer just yet as she snuggled closer to her…. ally and fell fast asleep.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon as Katniss stirred awake. Immediately, she felt herself leaning against a muscular body. Keeping her eyes closed, she snuggled closer to Thresh, smiling as she remembered their desperate but romantic coupling of the night before. Then, she felt his form shift and she opened her eyes. Her new paramour was staring down at her with a soft smile. Katniss blushed under his gaze.

"What?"

"You're so beautiful," Thresh whispered, almost in astonishment as he admired her nakedness. "I want you so much."

Boldly, Katniss stretched her body out like a cat. She tried being something she had never thought she could be before: sexy. "What's stopping you?" she asked seductively.

Thresh blinked in surprise, then grinned. He quickly rolled on top of her as Katniss bit back a smile. He seamlessly sheathed himself inside of her and began to roll his hips slowly, creating friction.

By now, Katniss was used to the feel of him inside her. She squirmed slightly as Thresh made gentle love to her. "You make love to me so tenderly," she purred happily. "You've had experience?"

Thresh smiled down at her, though she noticed there was a tint of sadness in his eyes. "In my district, men must have sex early and often, starting at a young age. Our life expectancy is really low, so we need to reproduce quickly so our offspring can replace us in the fields." He paused, and then laughed to himself. "Since I'm in the arena with you, I guess I'm 'sowing my final oats,' as it were."

Katniss giggled. "Well, I am honored, sir. You certainly know how to please a woman."

Thresh seemed to enjoy making her happy, so he kept up the jokes.

"Hey, now. Judging from the fact that you managed to screw a dead body, you're not so bad yourself, either."

Katniss's mouth fell open and she gave a mortified laugh. "You beast!" she squealed, slapping his chest.

All at once, Thresh flinched away from her. It took Katniss letting out a pathetic moan and reaching for him before she realized what it was about.

"Oh, Thresh, I didn't mean to say…. I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry…."

Thresh kissed her to shut her up. "I've heard worse, Katniss. Believe me. But that doesn't mean you still don't feel the sting of the phrase." He slowed his thrusts until he was barely doing it at all – not because he did not enjoy it, oh no. He just had something else on his mind.

"In 11, blacks and whites are not allowed to couple…. like this." He gestured between them. "There can be no mixing of the races. No 'mulatto' children, as people call them."

Katniss stared. "You mean segregation?" Thresh nodded. Katniss leaned her head back and off to one side, staring at the cave wall as she gave Thresh more access to kiss her neck.

"I can't even imagine," she admitted softly as Thresh ravaged her. "There isn't any segregation in Twelve. Oh, you'll find prejudice – every district has that – but it's barely there. In the shadows."

Thresh paused in his worship to turn back Katniss's chin so he was staring into her eyes. "Just because you can't see something clearly doesn't mean it's not there," he reminded her bitterly.

"So, don't you think I would have been afraid to have sex with you?" Katniss explained in agreement. "I mean you're a boy…." She caught herself. "Sorry… man. A large, black man. And you're so….." She blushed furiously as his penis came to mind. "Big. And last night you were so aggressive and…. passionate."

Thresh put his fingers to her lips to silence her ramblings. "And yet, you still slept with me." He was staring at her curiously. "Why?"

Katniss took his fingers and kissed each one of them lovingly, as if it was precious. "Because I don't care what color you are. If anything, the color of your skin is what made me fall for you. It's like…. coal." She gave his index finger a love bite. "That and your imposing strength and personality. It's fire. Coal and fire. It's…. powerful. Reminds me of myself."

Thresh groaned sexily and picked up his pace again, thrusting into Katniss harder, faster, deeper now. At last, he gave a violent shudder and spilled his seed deep inside the young woman with a growl. Katniss lifted his chin from against her breast and kissed him sweetly on the lips, pulling away with a tender smile.

"That's my handsome tribute," she whispered appreciatively.

Just as she and Thresh kissed again, the voice of Claudius Templesmith rang out: "Attention tributes, attention. There has been a slight… rule change. The Gamemakers have decided that two tributes will be allowed to win this year, if they are from the same district OR if that pair is deemed worthy by the Gamemakers."

Thresh and Katniss looked at each other, stunned. Stirring from Rue reminded them of their position, and they hurriedly separated and dressed, leaving the cave to discuss the ruling just outside.

"Thresh, you and Rue are the only district team left! You could go home and take care of each other!"

Thresh just smiled and shook his head at her. Katniss goggled at him, not understanding why he was turning yet another great opportunity down. "What?"

Thresh stepped closer to her and took her hand. "Katniss, you weren't listening. Don't you see? The Gamemakers also said a different pairing could be allowed if they deemed it worthy. You and I could go home!"

Katniss's eyes widened and her face broke into a beaming smile as the realization dawned on her. "We COULD go home!" she cried, reaching for him.

Smiling, Thresh ran a massive paw of a hand through her hair and down her face. Katniss leaned into his touch and smiled. Staring into each other's eyes, they leaned closer and closer until Thresh was cupping Katniss's face. Katniss felt her heart beating through her chest. At last, their lips met in the softest, most romantic kiss they had shared yet. Katniss vaguely pondered how Thresh's lips tasted like sweet chocolate….

They kissed. Then they embraced. They really got involved. In fact, they were both getting hotter by the second. Katniss's eyes drooped shut as she draped her arms around Thresh's neck, her hands framing his skull as they kissed like mad. As they began making out with tongue, the girl suddenly remembered something beyond just whom she was kissing.

And it horrified her.

Katniss struggled gently in Thresh's arms before finally pulling away and breaking the kiss with a gasp. "Rue!" she called out with the air that filled her lungs.

"Let her look. She probably suspects something between us anyway," Thresh growled huskily. He pulled her back into the kiss.

"Mmmm….mmmmmm…..mmahhh. No, Rue! If we are the last two alive, she would have to die!" Katniss felt herself on the verge of tears even as she said it. Thresh finally let up in the kissing and stared at her somberly.

"Not everything's in our favor, Katniss. The Gamemakers have to reserve some control. Suppose we are the last two?"

Katniss stared at him in astonishment. She thought about it. Could such a scenario play out, even up against Cato? And who knew what Foxface was up to? Then she thought about her allies. Sure, she adored Rue like a mother would her child. And Thresh…. was a brief childhood together and a week in the arena enough time to fall in love?

Yes. And once again, Katniss Everdeen went out of her usual comfort zone and made an impulsive decision. Pulling Thresh down to her, she kissed him again hungrily.

"Then if it is…. when the train stops in District 11, I'm getting off with you."

Thresh stared at her in amazement. "Katniss, no! Eleven has too much racism for us to be together!"

"Then we go to Twelve. My mother can be a little prejudiced, but she will have to accept us. And don't worry about Prim; she will love you. We can live together in Victor's Village. And if that doesn't work, we can run for the woods and live in my father's hunting cabin."

Thresh beamed at her. "I love you."

Katniss felt her breath catch and her eyes fill with tears. That was the first time he had ever said those words to her. Letting out a strangled gasp of joy, she threw her arms around him. They kissed passionately, to the point where Katniss's climbed Thresh's body like one of the many trees she had in her youth, wrapping her legs around his waist. Somewhere far, far away a voice screamed. Neither Thresh nor Katniss seemed to hear it. They were lost in their own world, not caring if people would denounce them as a couple, not caring if someone pointed at them while they were kissing and vowed that God would punish them. Not caring –

BOOM.

That brought them crashing back to Earth. Thresh and Katniss abruptly broke apart, their arms still around each other. "RUE!" Katniss cried once she had breath in her lungs.

"It wasn't her, Katniss!" Thresh calmed her. "I thought I heard a scream, but it sounded too far away!"

His rationalization was proven right when they looked up to see a hovercraft carrying away a body sporting red hair. Foxface….

Still, a protective Katniss could not be convinced completely of Rue's safety. Not until she and Thresh had disentangled themselves from one another and Thresh showed her the little girl was still sleeping soundly in the cave. Katniss then relaxed, if only just a little. For she knew their romantic timeout from the Games was over.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Later that same day, as night fell upon the arena, the Trio left their little cave for the last time. Katniss and Thresh now held hands, tenderly watching Rue as she skipped along just ahead of them. The little girl had been overjoyed, and apparently vindicated, when Thresh and Katniss had woken her that day and calmly explained to her that they were in love. If one weren't looking closely, it would appear as though these three were just two parents and their child enjoying being together forever.

But neither Katniss nor Thresh were under any delusions as they watched Rue bounce along with sad smiles. They would have to cherish moments like this as a quasi-family, for soon it would be over.

One way or another.

As if on cue, Cato's scream came reverberating from the distance. Katniss dropped Thresh's hand and readied her bow, her lover meanwhile on the alert.

"What was that?" he asked her. She glanced to him, realizing with both resignation and terror.

"It's the finale."

There was a crashing through the trees as Cato suddenly appeared. But he didn't attack the Trio. On the contrary, he ran right past them as if they weren't even there.

Then Katniss saw the mutts.

"RUN!" Thresh pulled her to her feet from where she had dived out of Cato's path and they ran together, Katniss pulling Rue along by the hand behind them. The growls just at their heels made them sprint faster than they ever had before, even after they burst from the tree line and saw the Cornucopia glinting in the moonlight, Cato's silhouette already climbing it.

Thresh paused at the edge before immediately giving his girls a boost to the top. Before he could climb himself, the mutts caught up. He turned and hacked at several with his scythe, forcing them back just long enough to scramble up the horn's side behind Katniss and out of reach. All three reached the top of the horn safely, but just as they were beginning to relax –

WHAM. Katniss felt Thresh torn from her side as Cato attacked. Throwing Rue behind her, she whipped out her bow and arrow and whirled to face their final foe, an enraged snarl on her face.

Cato looked surprisingly worse for wear. An entire side of his head was caked in blood, and further stains of the stuff had gathered at his mouth. _What has he been eating?_ Katniss wondered. A wild look in the boy from 2's eyes completed the picture.

Not to mention the fact that he now held Katniss's lover in a headlock chokehold.

"Go on, shoot," Cato huffed, out of breath from his climb. "Then we both go down and you and the little lady can have it out for the win." Katniss didn't move, afraid he was goading her into a trick. Cato pulled back on Thresh, who was gasping for air. "Go on," and he seemed to be begging her practically. "I'm dead anyway." Then he admitted something Katniss never thought he would, nearly laughing with insanity as he did:

"I always was, right? I didn't know that till now. How's that? IS THAT WHAT THEY WANT?" and he seemed to be tearfully taunting, screaming at the Gamemakers. Katniss hardened her resolve again from where she had almost pitied the boy in front of her. Cato noticed and gave a goading laugh. He gripped Thresh harder, who was now beginning to grow limp. Cato prepared his hands around Thresh's head, ready for the twist. "Nah, I could still do this…. I could still this," but he seemed to be trying to convince himself more than Katniss. "One more kill. It's the only thing I know how to do. Bring pride to my district."

As all of this was going on, Thresh and Katniss's eyes met. Oh so carefully, Thresh tapped an index finger against the hand choking him. Katniss immediately understood. He was signaling her where to shoot.

"Not that it matters," Cato was saying.

Then all hell broke loose.

Suddenly, Cato was mysteriously pulled back. Thinking he was about to kill Thresh, Katniss fired into his hand, and her enemy gave a cry of pain. Thresh broke free and threw Cato over and off the Cornucopia with all his strength. Cato screamed as he fell to the mutts below.

Katniss and Thresh held each other tight as they watched the mutts slowly devour Cato. Finally, Katniss couldn't stand the cries anymore and shot Cato in the head out of pity.

As the sun slowly rose over the arena, Katniss and Thresh wearily embraced and kissed. They broke apart with a sad smile… and then nervously laughed.

"That was something, huh, Rue?" Katniss called behind her. No answer. She looked. Rue was nowhere to be found.

"RUE!" she screamed.

"Look!" Thresh cried, suddenly pointing.

Katniss ran to edge and she nearly sobbed out loud, one hand over her mouth. Far below, there was Rue, covered in her own blood from the mutts.

* * *

Katniss and Thresh scrambled down the horn and rushed to their little charge's side. Katniss cradled Rue in her arms, sobbing.

"Why, Rue, why?" she begged.

"I remembered…. from my interview… if they can't catch me they can't kill me. I pulled Cato back to give you both time to get him. I just didn't expect to be taken down with him."

Katniss slammed the ground with her fist, tears splashing down her front. "You _stupid_ little girl!" she wailed angrily, though out of grief and not true malicious anger.

Rue just gave a, shall we say, rueful smile. "It's too late for me. Besides, you two are supposed to go home and be together in Twelve." Katniss and Thresh looked at each other, stunned. Rue grinned. "Yes, I saw you guys talking and kissing outside of the cave. That's when I decided that, no matter what, I couldn't come out of the arena alive. You deserve to be happy." Only now, as the end was near, did she begin to cry. "Thanks for being my friends. I would've died on the first day if it wasn't for you two."

"Don't you believe it," Thresh growled, even as he threatened to come apart.

Both Thresh and Katniss kissed their surrogate child goodbye, holding her until the last. The cannon sounded, and Rue's body was taken away. No sooner was it gone than Claudius Templesmith's voice yet again rang out:

"Attention, tributes, attention. There has been a slight rule change: the previous rule change allowing for two victors has been…. revoked. Only one victor may be crowned. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

Katniss couldn't believe it. She and Thresh had bought right into the Capitol's game: the game that ensured the most dramatic showdown in history. She turned to her love, finally defeated.

"Go ahead." Thresh didn't move. So she pleaded. "One of us has to die. We both know they have to have their victor."

Thresh angrily threw down his scythe. "No. They don't! Why should they?" He produced something from his pocket. It was a group of berries – berries that Katniss recognized. Nightlock. Thresh poured half of the fruit into Katniss's palm. And she understood.

A double suicide. By two tragic lovers. Which meant no victor.

The rebellious side of her _adored_ it.

"One…." Thresh counted slowly.

"Two…." Katniss echoed. They gave each other one last look.

"Three," Thresh finished simply. They reached to ingest the poison.

CRACKLE! The blast blew Katniss right off her feet, the berries scattering out of her hand. When she sat up off the ground, dazed, she saw Thresh lying prone a yard or so from her. She crawled to his side, panicked, and felt for a pulse. There was none.

Her love was dead.

The tears came tumbling down onto his upturned face like a wave. She could only kiss him one last time before she let out the sounds of ruin. She sobbed. She screamed. She wept bitterly; ignoring Claudius Templesmith as he declared her, Katniss Everdeen – a girl she no longer recognized – the winner of the 74th Annual Hunger Games.


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Katniss was joined by Haymitch in the hovercraft. Despite their tendency towards animosity, mentor and protégé hugged, the former close to tears. Finally, after 24 years, he was not alone as a victor from District 12.

A week later, as Katniss was on her Victory Tour, a Capitol physician informed her that she was pregnant with twins. But here was the extraordinary part: one had been conceived by semen produced from Peeta's dead corpse. The other had been sired by Thresh in the cave of the arena.

Two babies. From two different races. Sired by two different men Katniss had had feelings for.

Nine months after that, Katniss gave birth to her children: a little white boy and a little mulatto-skinned girl. Katniss named the boy Peeta Thresh Gale Mellark. The girl she named Primrose Rue Okiniwi, jointly after her sister and her old ally.

Trouble soon arrived to challenge Katniss's happiness, however. When the kids were only a month old, President Snow announced that, for the 75th Hunger Games and 3rd Quarter Quell, former Hunger Games victors would be going back into the arena a second time. Katniss and Haymitch, being the only victors from Twelve, had no choice but to compete. Gale Hawthorne watched Katniss's children while she and the old drunk were gone. With the help of some other rebellious tributes, about a quarter of the field managed to destroy and break out of the arena.

Katniss and Haymitch, along with a District 3 victor named Beetee Latier, were spirited away to District 13 underground, where they were reunited with Gale, Prim, Mrs. Everdeen, Primrose Rue and Peeta the Second (Gale had given the boy that nickname). Katniss agreed to lead a rebellion against the Capitol as the Mockingjay. The districts united and won the fight against tyranny. Snow was deposed and a new President was elected democratically.

Mere months later, the Panem media was treated to a wonderful surprise when Katniss and Gale married in a public, romantic ceremony in District 12. A year later (coincidentally on the second birthdays of Primrose Rue and Peeta the Second), a boy was born to the hunting team-turned-married-couple, Gregory Hawthorne.

Together, the couple would raise three kids sired by three different men – men that Katniss had all loved and been loved by in return.


End file.
